PNW Alumni Hall of Fame

The Honorable Diane Kavadias Schneider

The Honorable Diane Kavadias Schneider is a Northwest Indiana native and earned her bachelor’s degree in English from PNW in 1971. She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1982. Judge Schneider went on to become the first female judge of the Civil Division of the Lake Superior Court in 2000, and previously served as Court Administrator in the Juvenile Division and Magistrate in the County Division.

She has served on boards of the Lake County Bar Association, Indiana State Bar Association and the Indiana WINGS Guardianship Task Force. Under her direction and in partnership with Franciscan Health, Lake County became the first Indiana county to have a volunteer guardianship program.

Judge Schneider retired in 2019 after 33 years of service in the courts and now resides in Florida with her husband, David R. Schneider, retired Lake County Chief Public Defender. In spring 2023, Judge Schneider delivered the PNW spring commencement keynote address and was awarded her Master of Arts (M.A.) in English. Judge Schneider and David also established a scholarship at PNW that will support Criminal Justice students in perpetuity.

Jeff Strack

Jeff Strack is the president and CEO of Indiana Grocery Group, which does business as and operates Strack & Van Til stores. He received his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Purdue Northwest in 2000.

Strack & Van Til has grown to 23 locations, with a focus on providing an exceptional shopping experience, clean stores, product variety and solutions that continually evolve to meet community needs. Jeff Strack’s leadership fosters a practice for management team members to be involved in civic and volunteer engagement.

Beyond providing and supporting nourishment to local communities, Strack & Van Til stores have supported schools, veterans, first responders, local sports teams, women’s shelters and more. Jeff Strack has additionally given back to the community through service on boards such as the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Northwest Indiana; One Region’s opportunity council; St. Catherine Hospital; Tradewinds Services, Inc.; and United Way Northwest Indiana.

Strack also devotes time to his alma mater by mentoring PNW College of Business students, serving on the College of Business advisory board and serving on the PNW Chancellor’s advisory board.

Stewart "Stu" McMillan

McMillan is the founder of the Multi Agency Academic Cooperative (MAAC) Foundation in Valparaiso, Indiana. The MAAC Foundation, named to honor McMillan’s father, Clyde “Mack” McMillan, is a multi-purpose campus that provides training opportunities to first responders in Northwest Indiana.

McMillan previously led Task Force Tips, Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of firefighting equipment, and served as a member of the Union Township and Washington Township fire departments in Porter County, Indiana.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Engineering in 1977 from PNW. McMillan’s generous support has helped PNW upgrade facilities and student workspace, including the PNW Design Studio on the Hammond campus.

Alfredo "Al" Sori

Sori retired after a distinguished career from Kiewit Corporation, one of North America’s largest construction and engineering organizations. He most recently served as division manager of Kiewit subsidiary Mass Electric Transportation, where he oversaw transit electrical, communication, traction power, security, ITS, roadway lighting projects and high-speed rail pursuits across North America. He served in division manager roles since 2013 with executive oversight of multiple Kiewit districts and subsidiaries.

In 2020 he made a gift to support a general biology lab space inside PNW’s Nils K. Nelson Bioscience Innovation Building, naming the space the Sivilla-Sori Biology Lab in memory of his mother, Georgina Sivilla.

Sori earned both an associate’s degree in Civil Engineering Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management in 1989 from PNW.